Welcome to Our Lives
by dracochick
Summary: Following the lives of two muggle-born girls as they start off to Hogwarts. Filed with humor, gags, and yes a little bit of fluff.


Hello! This is a new story! (Well, duh.) This is going to be a slightly different story as two people write it. The way this is going to be, in the first chapter, I'll write from the view of my character (Liz), and my partner, Pia, will write the next chapter from the view of her character (Pia). We each took 1 of our real names (e.g. First name, last name.) and used them on our character. This will most likely be in 7 parts (we're going to start them off in the first year.). Is everything clear? Good, so let's begin. (By the way, my name is

Tabitha.) Oh yeah… the character that I use is Liz.

Disclaimer- (I gotta remember these before I get sued)

Important: I'd (well, we'd) like to thank Lunariia for agreeing to beta this story.

this is the first chapter-

I stared at the letter in my hands in amazement. It was on parchment, with a coat of arms at the top, a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter 'H'.

The letter read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Miss. Shannon,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1, September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

'Wow.' I whispered.

' Liz? What was in the letter?' My mother asked, sticking her head into my room.

I looked up from where she was perched, cross-legged on my bed. 'It's a letter from a school called Hogwarts.'

'Oh?' My mother said, raising her eyebrows.

'Yeah, it… it says it's a school for witchcraft and wizardry.'

My mother smiled,

'Oh, yes. Well, we got a letter a little while ago informing us that you were to be enrolled into this… ah…school.'

'You mean it's real! It's not just a joke?' I said, hopefully. She shook her head slightly,

' No, it's not a joke. In fact, the headmaster, I think his name was Dumbledore, came and saw us while you were away at school.'

I smiled and jumped off the bed,

'I've gotta go next door to tell Pia!'

'Hold it!'The command stopped me a split second from tearing out the door and across the street to my neighbor's house.

'What now?' I muttered, annoyed.

'I understand you're excited,' My mother began, 'but I think you'd better not tell her right away, after all, she might not have been accepted.'

'Oh.' I said, crestfallen.

'But you can go over and try to find out if she did.'

I felt my face brighten considerably, but then fall again when I realized that my friend might not have been accepted. 'Well, I'll just go over and find out.' I thought.

I walked over to my friend's house across the street and pressed the doorbell. A solid bonging noise reverberated throughout the house. The door opened a couple of seconds later.

' Why hello dear.' A plump woman with a pleasant face peered around the door.

' Hello Mrs. Callahan, is Pia around?' I asked, containing my excitement.

' Why yes, she's in her room. Just go on up.' She said, opening the door completely.

I edged past the woman and removed my shoes, placing them on worn rubber mat beside the door. I ran up the plush covered stairs to my friend's room, stopping at the door to compose myself. I knocked at the door.

'Come in.' I heard an excited voice say.

Liz opened the door and was just in time to see her friend hurriedly shoving a piece of paper out of sight.

'What's that?' I asked curiously.

'Oh, nothing.' She said hurriedly, flushing.

' All right then.' Liz looked at her friend suspiciously.

'So… what's with the surprise visit?' Pia asked me, frowning.

'What, your not glad to see me?' I said, pretending to be hurt, but my twinkling eyes gave me away.

Pia sighed, 'Yeah, I guess I've missed you terribly since I've only talked with you about half an hour ago.'

'Half an hour can be a long time.' I said, smiling sheepishly.

' Mmm hmm.' Pia said, raising her eyebrows.

' Well… my parents are sending me to this boarding school.' I said, pretending to be angry about it.

' What a coincidence, so are mine.' Pia said.

' Really?' I said, hardly daring to hope.

Pia met my eyes and grinned. I knew she got a letter too.

' Mines called ' Miss. Flinchder's school for young ladies.'' I said, lying through my teeth.

Pia's face fell, and I couldn't hold it in any longer. I burst out laughing and fell on my friend's bed, doubled over.

Pia smiled tightly, ' Why you…'

I sat up quickly, her eyes twinkling, ' Got you going for a second there, didn't I?' Without waiting for my friend to answer, I continued, ' No, the school has a weird name… Hogwarts.'

Pia squealed, ' Yes! I'm going there too!'

She hurriedly pulled her letter back out from under the pillow she had shoved it under. We read over our letters, and noticed a sentence near the bottom that neither of us had noticed before. It read:

As you are a muggle born, there is a wizarding family down the road from you that would only be too happy to show you around and help you buy your wizarding supplies. They live at The burrow in Ottery Saint Catchpole, and they are the Weasley family.

Hope to see you in September!

' The Weasley house.' I repeated.

Pia looked up, ' Let's go now!'

' But shouldn't we…' My plea was lost in the ears of a determined Pia. She grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the stairs.

' Here we go again with the jumping into stuff.'

I allowed myself to be dragged down the stairs, but I stopped to put my shoes back on while Pia tapped her foot impatiently.

We left through the front door and saw Mrs. Callahan stick her head, 'Where are you going?'

' Oh, just some wizarding family that could kill us with a flick of their wand if they get angry.' I said, watching Pia roll her eyes.

' Oh, all right then. Be back before dinner!' Mrs. Callahan called after them.

My eyes widened in disbelief, ' She doesn't even care!'

Pia laughed, ' Doesn't look like it, does it?'

I just sighed and continued walking, scuffing my shoes in the dirt.

After a while, I raised her eyes and looked above the trees. What I saw almost gave me a heart attack. I gasped in disbelief and tugged Pia's arm weakly.

' What?' Pia snapped.

I just pointed. For above the trees, we could make out an outline of three boys. It wasn't the fact that they were boys that were the problem; it was the fact that they were riding on broomsticks and throwing a ball around that unnerved me.

Pia laughed, 'I guess we got the right house.'

When they came into the clearing, we looked up, open-mouthed.

' Wicked.' Pia said admiringly.

' I hope they don't fall.' I said worriedly.

Pia just rolled her eyes. After a couple of minutes, the boys noticed the girls standing in the middle of the clearing.

They came down quickly and looked at each other anxiously.

' Uh oh.' Said the first, looking at the other.

' Twins!' I thought. Both had flaming red hair and the same features. I looked at the last boy. ' Must be their younger brother.' The last boy had the same flaming red hair, but was a bit shorter than the others.

' Fred,' said one twin, looking at the other, ' mum's going to kill us.'

' Yuh think?' Said the twin called Fred.

The youngest one edged away from the others and ran toward the house.

' What do you reckon we do, George?' Fred asked his brother.

' I dunno.' He answered.

Pia sighed, ' We can hear you, you know.'

They looked at her, ' So?' They said in unison.

I edged away, intending to make a getaway before anyone noticed. I turned quietly, and felt a tug at her collar.

Pia yanked me back from where I was planning to bolt, ' Honestly, it's not like they're going to hurt us.' She said between clenched teeth.

The twin's faces broke in to evil grins. Fred studied his fingernails, ' I wouldn't be so sure about that.'

Pia looked on defiantly, 'Bring it!'

I put my hands in front of my face and whimpered, 'I'd rather you didn't.'

Pia rolled her eyes and pulled my hands back down from her face.

I saw the younger brother returning from the house with a woman. She was rather plump, but had a kind face. ' Must be a relative.' She too shared the flaming red hair of the twins.

' Oh dear.' She was muttering, fingering a bit of wood in her hands, ' I really wish I didn't have to do this to those poor dears.'

The twins looked at the woman, ' Mum!'

She looked at them and glared, ' If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times not to play quiddich where muggles can see you.'

' Muggles?' I asked Pia.

Pia shrugged, and the woman looked back, 'Non-magic folk.' She said hurriedly, and then went back to scolding the twins.

'I think now would be a good time to leave.' I murmured to Pia.

' Yeah.' Pia muttered back.

I was backing away slowly, when the woman spotted them and aimed the piece of wood at the spot between my eyes.

' Now, now there's no need to be frightened.' She said.

' Yeah.' I said weakly, crossing my eyes to look at the point at the top of the wood. I had visions of the woman spearing me, and felt myself falling backwards.

I heard voices and opened my eyes slowly, groaning. I sat up and realized that I was on a rather lumpy couch with an embroidered blanket thrown over me. I looked around, and noticed the youngest boy playing what looked like chess with his mother. Except that it couldn't be chess. The pieces were moving, and I saw a knight tackle a bishop and get involved in a violent tussle.

I tore my eyes away from the game and noticed a pile of dirty dishes gently float over to the sink, deposit themselves and begin to be washed with a washcloth that directed itself.

I saw the mother glance in my direction, and stand up. She began walking toward me, and I cowered, wondering what the woman had in store for me now.

' Why hello dear, I'm glad to see you're up.' She continued without waiting for a reply from me, ' Your friend explained everything and showed us the letter. I must say, you gave us a nasty fright when you two just showed up in the middle of the field.'

I just smiled weakly. 'I should have known. Pia always gets us into trouble when she jumps into things without checking first.'

The woman smiled and walked over to a cupboard, ' I suppose you're hungry, and no wonder! I must have given you some fright, pointing my wand at you like that. By the way, you can call me Mrs. Weasley.'

' All right.' I said softly.

Mrs. Weasley opened the cupboard and jumped back with a yelp. I saw a man-like shape float out of the cupboard and settle itself on the ground. I watched, amazed as it began to shape itself into Fred, who lied on the floor with a trickle of blood running from his temple. Mrs. Weasley raised her wand and said, with conviction,

'Riddikulus!'

The shape cracked and crept toward me. I watched in mute horror as the biggest spider I had ever seem crawled jerkily toward me.

I screamed, and Ron looked up from the board in time to see the spider lurch toward the couch with its eight hairy legs.

' Bloody hell!' He exclaimed.

I scrambled off the couch and ran over to him while whimpering, ' I hate spiders!'

' Great, now it's going to come over here.' Ron said, breathing hard.

Mrs. Weasley somehow got in front of the spider and yelled, ' Riddikulus!'

It vanished in a puff of smoke, and I could hear the sounds of feet hurrying down the stairs.

I looked up, and saw the twins hurrying down with matching evil grins and Pia coming in behind them with an apologetic, but evil grin.

' I say mum, you must have found something… er… interesting in the closet.'

Mrs. Weasley looked at her son's suspiciously, ' How did you know it was in the closet?'

' We… um…' Fred started.

' Our uncanny sense of things that happen in the house? 'George supplied.

' Nice try.' Said their mother.

The twins looked at each other guiltily.

' But since we have to go to Diagon Alley to get school supplies, you can wait until later to de-gnome the garden.'

' Aw, mum!'

' C'mon, no.'

But their pleas were lost in the ears of their scolding mother.

' Maybe next time you'll learn.'

We excused ourselves to go home and get money.

' Of course, dears.' Mrs. Weasley said.

We left the house and returned later with pockets full of money.

' Ready?' We nodded. ' Then let's go.'

We took a bus to London and walked to a street that a bookshop on one side and a record shop on the other. Mrs. Weasley pointed to a rather tiny, grubby looking pub that had a squeaky, wooden sign proclaiming it the 'Leaky Cauldron.' Pia opened the door for me and ushered me in, saying, ' Hypochondriacs first.' I gave her a look that would have had her six feet under if looks could kill. She just smiled. We all got into the bar without too many more casualties (Fred and George had offered some sweets to a passing muggle).

When we entered the bar, Mrs. Weasley nodded to the bartender, who smiled and revealed a mouthful of toothless gums. We made our way to the back of the pub and opened a door to that led to a brick wall. 'What's the point of this? I mean, it's only a wall.' I said.

' Ahh, but things aren't all that they seem.' Fred said, trying to sound wise, but failing miserably.

' Yeah, you don't seem like you're a great prat, but looks can be deceiving.' Pia said, as I stifled a giggle. We watched as Mrs. Weasley pulled out her wand and muttered,

' Three up… two across.'

She lightly tapped one of the bricks, and to our amazement, the brick wiggled and a small hole appeared. The longer they watched, the bigger the hole grew, until Pia reckoned they could probably fit a small elephant through.

Fred and George turned to Pia, ' You know, they've got an awesome joke shop here, its called Meddlesome Majic. Y' wanna come with us?'

I knew the answer before she did.

' Sweet!' I heard her exclaim.

'Hold it!' Mrs. Weasley called to their retreating figures. They turned back around, their faces impatient.

' First, we'll take the girls to Gringotts, then we'll buy our school supplies, and then you will have free time to look around.' She explained.

The twins groaned, ' Tell ickle Ronnikins to get our school stuff.'

The boy called Ron flushed, but didn't reply.

We walked down the street, which had a rickety sign proclaiming it Diagon Alley.

I felt I should have at least ten extra eyes to see everything. There were old men who were muttering about muggles, a bunch of boys with their noses pressed against the window, excitedly discussing something called a 'nimbus two thousand', and an old woman with a stuffed parrot on her shoulder.

Finally, we reached a snowy white building that towered over everything else. We passed the front door, which was made of burnished bronze, and made our way to the entrance door, silver, when I saw a small man with a uniform of scarlet and gold.

' Wait a minute.' I thought, 'that's not a man.' It couldn't be a man. It had a clever face, a rather large nose, a pointed beard and long, slender fingers and feet.

' It's a goblin.' I heard Ron mutter to his little sister, Ginny.

I noticed a warning engraved on the door:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those that take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn,

So if you seek beneath our floors,

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware,

Of finding more than treasure there.

I shivered, even though it was a hot summer's day. I turned around to see Fred and George discussing the warning.

' Oh, I'm terribly scared, won't you hold me George?' Fred said in a high-pitched voice.

' I don't think so, you're not mine to hold.' Fred said, mocking his mother's voice.

The goblin looked at them with distaste, and we made our way through the door without further incident, and made our way up to a desk, where a goblin was perched.

' May I help you?' It asked, looking for all the world as it would rather do anything but.

' Yes.' Mrs. Weasley said briskly, ' I would like to exchange muggle currency for wizard currency, and to take some money out of our vault.'

' Very well. Do you have the key?' It asked, faintly sneering.

Mrs. Weasley rummaged around in her purse for a minute, and then produced a small, golden key.

' Griphook will take you to your vault while I deal with the muggles.'

As though produced from thin air, another goblin appeared at the crook of Mrs. Weasley's elbow. ' Come along.' It said briskly.

We watched the Weasley family walk away, with Fred and George bringing up the rear.

' Shall we start?' The goblin asked.

' Of course.' I said, smiling. It didn't return the smile.

I put my hands in my pocket, and pulled out a handful of twenty-pound notes, and dumped them on the table in front of the goblin. It wrinkled its nose and turned to Pia, ' Do you have any?'

Pia grinned and stuck her hands on her pocket, producing a fistful of money and a handful of coins.

It sighed and began counting the money, every so often making a note in the book at its side.

Finally, it produced two handsome leather bags, and handed one to each of us. He put two piles of metal coins on the desk, and motioned to us to fill the bags with them. We did, and it shooed us to the side to wait on the next people in line.

We inspected our loot while we waited for the Weasleys.

There were small bronze coins, medium silver coins, and large gold ones.

' Wonder what they're called?' Pia asked me.

I shrugged, ' Guess we'll have to ask the Weasleys.'

' Speaking of them.' Pia said, nodding her head in their direction.

I turned and saw the five of them, each looking faintly green, coming towards us. We ran to meet them and walked them outside.

' I see you've got your money.' Mrs. Weasley commented.

' Speaking about the money… what are they called?' I asked.

' Well, lets see… the gold ones are galleons, the silver ones are sickles, and the bronze ones are knuts. Seventeen silver sickles to a galleon and twenty-nine knuts to a sickle. It's simply, really.'

' Yeah, simple.' I heard Pia mutter, and I turned to grin at her.

' Here we are.' Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.

I looked up to see a store with ' Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.' Written on a sign that hung over the door.

Mrs. Weasley ushered Ron, Pia and me inside, telling us to meet her at 'Flourish and Blotts' after we got our robes.

We walked in and saw Madam Malkin, who was dressed all in mauve.

' Hogwarts, dears?' Before we knew it, we were on stools with various witches pinning our long, black robes to the right lengths.

When we had our robes in bags for us to carry, we left the shop. Pia stopped in front of it. ' What do we need for school supplies?' She asked.

' Look in your letters.' Ron suggested.

We pulled out our letters and unfolded a piece of parchment I swear wasn't in them before. They read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Uniform

First year students will require:

1.Three sets of plain work robes (black).

2. One plain pointed hat (black).

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar).

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils clothing should carry name tags.

Set Books:

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment:

1 wand

1 cauldron ( pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

1 wand

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

' funny. I didn't notice this before.' Pia said, frowning.

But I wasn't concerned with that small fact. ' Pia! We can get a pet!'

Pia turned her attention to me, ' You know, I would have never guessed if it wasn't for the tiny fact its written right on the paper.'

I smiled, and turned to Ron, ' Is there a pet shop around here?'

' Yes.' He said, then added, ' I…' Ginny tugged at the sleeve of his shirt, '… _we_ would be glad to show you it if you'd like.'

Pia broke into a grin, ' Sweet!'

I rolled my eyes, ' All those 'sweets' are giving me a cavity.'

She just shrugged and grinned. In no time at all, we reached Flourish and Blotts.'

We walked inside and started looking around. I picked up a rather thick book entitled ' Magical Remedies for Muggle Problems' when someone knocked into me from behind, causing me to drop the book.

' Excuse me.' A voice drawled.

I turned around to face a pale boy with gelled hair.

' Oh, well maybe I shouldn't have said that. You don't deserve the privilege.' He added, arching an eyebrow and putting a hand to his blond hair, as if checking to see if a strand of hair was out of place.

I felt my face grow hot, and saw Pia and Ron come towards me.

The boy turned to look at them, ' Oh,' He said to Ron, ' you must be a Weasley. Red hair, trashy clothing, it all fits.

' Fits into what?' Ron said between clenched teeth.

But the boy continued, ' To spend your time with two mudbloods,' He looked at Pia and me, ' I thought your family could sink no lower.'

Ron flushed redder than his hair as I whispered, ' What's a mudblood?'

' It's a really foul name for a muggle born. It means 'dirty blood'.' Ron said, breathing hard.

' Oh, really.'

I walked over to the boy and put my face close to his, ' Would you like to call me that to my face?' I inquired.

The boy smirked, and gave me a push that sent me back a few paces, 'Stop breathing my air you filthy mudblood.'

I saw red. I walked back towards him and sent a stinging slap to his left cheek. He stood there for a minute, as though dazed, as the mark turned a lovely shade of pink.

' Why you…' He stepped toward me, raising his arm.

I flinched, expecting to feel the slap at any minute. When none came, I opened my eyes. Fred had appeared out of nowhere and had the boy's arm in a death grip.

' If you ever touch a hair of either of these girls heads, I will personally see to it that you will deeply regret it.' He said menacingly.

The boy wrenched his arm out of Fred's grasp and spun around, leaving the shop.

Fred sighed, ' Good thing that's over. Now, mum's waiting for us over there, let's get our books, shall we?'

As we exited the shop loaded with books, Mrs. Weasley said, ' Now to Ollivanders for our wands, then you may wander around for a while.'

As we entered Ollivanders, and heard a tinkling sound as we opened the door. We set our books on a small table in the corner, and I saw a thin man step out of the shadows.

' Welcome to Ollivanders.' He said, his voice barely a whisper. ' Come this way.' He said, beckoning to Ron, Pia and me to follow. Mrs. Weasley gave me an encouraging smile as we followed him to the counter.

Several broken vases and a hole in the floor later, we had our wands.

We exited Ollivanders, feeling proud of our wands and were let wander for about an hour.

Ron took Pia and I to the pet shop and as we entered the shop, the smell of wet dog greeted us. I looked around and saw a small cat taking a nap in the window. I approached it and ran a finger down it's fluffy back. It stretched and yawned, exposing a pink tongue. It looked up at me and started purring. I picked it up and found Pia, who had a tawny owl in a cage.

We grinned at each other, ' Nice cat.' Pia commented.

I looked down at the black and gray bundle of fur in my arms, ' Thanks.'

We paid for our purchases and made our way out.

**- you like?-**

So… you like? We'll put the next chapter up as soon as we can.

So... you like it? If you have time, could you send it sometime this week? ( I'll send the second chappie soon!)


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